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Houston Texans: Is Brian Hoyer an upgrade over Ryan Fitzpatrick?

By Nick Ziegler

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The Houston Texans will have a much different looking offense in 2015 compared to their 2014 roster that helped the team go 9-7.

Andre Johnson, who was second on the Texans in receiving yards last season has been released, and most recently quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has been traded to the New York Jets. Fitzpatrick started in 12 games for the Texans last season, and had a 6-6 record, with a fairly good season.

In 2014, Fitzpatrick totaled 2,525 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. It was arguably Fitzpatrick’s best season in the NFL, as he was very efficient with a 95.3 quarterback rating, which was a career-high. Despite a good season for Fitzpatrick, the Texans and head coach Bill O’Brien have decided to go in a different direction at quarterback.

Nov 23, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett (15) throws in the pocket against the Cincinnati Bengals at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

One of the two quarterbacks that the Texans signed was Ryan Mallett, who was on the team last season after being traded from the New England Patriots. Last season, Mallett started in two games for the Texans, and the team went 1-1 with him under center, but the sample size for Mallett is small.

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In his two starts last season, Mallett totaled 400 passing yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while completing 41 of 75 passes. Due to not really knowing what Mallett could be in the NFL despite some good potential with a strong arm, the Texans couldn’t go into the 2015 season with him as the starter for sure.

In free agency, the Texans were active in pursuing Cleveland Browns’ quarterback Brian Hoyer, and their efforts would pay off with him signing. Like Mallett, Hoyer was on the Patriots when O’Brien was there, as he will likely be having two of his former players battling for the starting spot in 2015. The deal for Hoyer is inexpensive for the Texans, as he signed a two-year $10.5 million deal according to the Houston Chronicle.

Hoyer has more experience than Mallett, and should have the edge to be the Texans’ starting quarterback next season. Hoyer became known in 2013, as he would have a 3-0 record for the Browns before tearing his ACL, which cost him the rest of the season. Hoyer’s stats in 2013 were decent, as he had five touchdowns, three interceptions, and averaged 205 yards passing per game.

Even though the Browns drafted Johnny Manziel in the first-round of the past year’s draft, Hoyer was able to retain his spot as the starting quarterback in Cleveland. In 2014, Hoyer had another winning record as the quarterback by going 7-6. Hoyer would total 12 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 3,326 passing yards, and a 55.3% completion percentage. As many expected, Hoyer was benched for Manziel during the season, as down the stretch in the season, Hoyer began to struggle. In his last five games, Hoyer threw nine interceptions, and the Browns’ season began to go south quickly.

It is a bit surprising to see that the Texans had seemingly no interest in bring back Fitzpatrick, even though he played pretty well last year. Statistically, Fitzpatrick was far better than Hoyer, who had just a 76.5 quarterback rating. O’Brien clearly likes Hoyer and Mallett, and it will be his job to get them to play well in 2015 if the Texans want to have another winning season.

Next: Is DeAndre Hopkins ready to be a No.1 WR?

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